Grand Ancestral Bloodlines

Ailsa and Yaana were a step late, but they subconsciously fell in step with Ryu. As far as they were concerned, this man was their grandfather too. How could they not show him proper respect?

The outline of Saint Tatsuya's silhouette started off blurred, but it very quickly took forward. The passive expression of a man getting on in years was the first thing to appear. It didn't seem like Ryu's grandfather was aware of his surroundings at first and it took him a while to regain his bearings. 

Unlike Grandma Kunan who had been able to trigger her own awakening with the appearance of the Legacy World, Grandpa Tatsuya's awakening was triggered by Ryu's appearance in this world. As such, he was still waking up even long after Ryu appeared. 

When Saint Tatsuya realized that there were three people kneeling before him, he blinked. The simple surprise in his eyes made a person want to protect him at all costs, but even that paled in comparison to the moment he recognized his grandson. 

His gaze lit up, a gentle smile spreading across his lips. One could practically see the warmth spreading out from his body, his deep crimson eyes exuding a gentleness that shouldn't have been possible from someone with such a violent bloodline. 

Saint Tatsuya had always been like this. Ryu had never seen him uncontrolled and he always chose to show his affection in silence. Maybe the person who put in the most effort toward finding treasures to continue to extend Ryu's life was exactly this grandfather of his. 

He wasn't as loud as Grandpa Kunan, or as teasing as Grandma Kunan, and he often allowed Grandma Tatsuya to have her way no matter what, but he had always been a man that Ryu deeply respected and admired, even beyond his status as his grandfather. 

"Oh! Right."

Saint Tatsuya chuckled to himself, suddenly realizing that he had left them kneeling for far too long. He had gotten lost in his memories for a bit and forgot the immediate situation he was in. 

His hand reached forward, causing a swirl of qi to rise the three to their feet. When he saw the vertical slits of Ryu's gaze, he sighed. Clearly, Ryu had been just fine before, but his emotions had been stirred up by seeing his grandfather again. 

"Your temper's always been bad, Little Ryu. I thought that it might have been a blessing that you never had to deal with your Dragon blood but it seems that Fate likes to play its tricks."

A light palm pressed against Ryu's forehead, causing his blood to recede like a tide. His crimson irises faded back to their normal silver color, his pupils rounding again. However, at the moment, Ryu just felt that it was unfortunate that he couldn't feel his grandfather's palm at all. 

When Ryu met his Grandma Kunan, she had entered his Spiritual Sea, but it was clear that this situation was much different and Saint Tatsuya couldn't control every aspect of this world like his grandmother had been able to with her Legacy World. 

Saint Tatsuya smiled lightly, retracting his palm. He swept a gaze over Ailsa and Yaana with a meaningful look in his eye, but he didn't say much. Whether it was himself, his son or Saint Kunan, all of them had only ever had one wife. Saint Tatsuya himself was practically in a choke hold when it came to his own. As a result, he really had no advice to give his grandson in this regard, this was going to have to be a headache that Ryu figured out himself. 

"Your grandma should have told you how things are, right?"

Ryu clenched his jaw lightly before relaxing and nodding. There was no need to act like this when his grandpa didn't have much time left. 

"Good, then I won't waste time on the unnecessary stuff. I believe that I have about three hours to impart what I have to you. Choose your questions carefully and don't make them too complicated, you can't embarrass me in my final hours."

Seeing his Grandpa Tatsuya making a joke, something he very rarely if ever did, left Ryu feeling warm. He knew well that his grandpa was stepping out of his comfort zone just to make sure that Ryu could take these matters in stride. He was a grown man and yet he still needed his grandparents to baby him, just what kind of man was he, exactly? 

"Grandpa, please teach me what you know about the Fire Dragon's Bloodline Talents."

"Oh? Not a bad choice. Alright, grandpa will guide you. The root of the Fire Dragon's talents all originate from the Rage Flame…"

The two women took a respectful step back, allowing the grandfather-grandson duo their final moments together. 

"Big sister Ailsa?" Yaana asked softly. 

"Mm?"

"You can help me get stronger too, right?" 

Yaana's gaze was locked onto Ryu's back in the distance, her deep black eyes looking like the rippling surface of a lake beneath a moonless night. 

Yaana had lost her grandfather in this life as well. Her mother and father left too early, leaving her with only her grandpa. Of course, her grandpa died of natural causes, living out a long and fulfilling life while doting on her as often and as much as he could, but that dull pain, even after so long, had never left…. It only made it worse that she felt a guilt weighing on her shoulders. 

She knew that her grandfather's greatest wish was to see her happily married, maybe even getting to hold more grandchildren one day even if they would be great grandchildren. But, she had never been able to give him such a simple even, even after all he had done for her… All for the sake of chasing after the shadow of this man… 

She owed it to herself and to her grandfather to never fall too far behind Ryu's steps. And hopefully one day, she could fulfill the wish she had failed to previously…